Diversity’s on the menu

Shoheli Sunjida, Max Godber, Angelique Jauffret and Heike Hohaus at the school''s veggie garden. 179991_01 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

By Kyra Gillespie

A lack of cultural representation in food across the shire is the main concern for young people in the municipality when it comes to what’s in the pantry.

On Thursday 19 April the Cardinia Food Movement hosted a ‘Kitchen Table Talk’ at Pakenham Secondary College to bring students together to share their experiences and ideas for food in the region.

Community Engagement Officer for the Cardinia Food Movement, Max Godber, said he was pleasantly surprised with the direction of the discussion between students at the college.

“I gained a lot of insight into how strong the food culture is among the young people in Cardinia,” Mr Godber said.

“Lots of kids expressed frustration that there isn’t enough representation of diverse cultures in the food stocked in local supermarkets and grown in communal garden beds.

“So many families have to go way out to Dandenong or Springvale to get the staple foods that they are familiar with. That’s an example of inequality in food access right there.”

All the ideas and suggestions captured in Kitchen Table Talks across the shire help inform a Community Food Plan – a blueprint for the future of food within Cardinia.

Pakenham Secondary College is the first school in the municipality to engage in a Kitchen Table Talk.

“We need to develop a strategy that best reflects the needs of residents of all ages,” Mr Godber said.

“To encourage a region or population to eat healthily you have to start at the school level.

“These talks are a way to incorporate real life skills into the curriculum, as well as to get a sense of where kids are at with food.”

The college is the first of many schools that the food movement hopes to engage with.

“The next step is to establish some continuity; to get these conversations happening around the dinner and in people’s homes.

“It’s all good and well to teach these ideas in school, but if kids are going home eating less healthy foods then it’s not going to stick long-term.

“These conversations are just as important, if not more, if they’re had at home too.”

Mr Godber says food is a universal language, and believes it plays a vital role in bringing the community together.

“Personally I’d love to see schools working together collaboratively on a communal food project. Growing up, the only relationship kids have with other schools is through competitive sports.

“Wouldn’t it be great to see schools come together through food?”

The Cardinia Food Movement is currently hosting a series of Kitchen Table Talks across the Cardinia Shire to bring local people together to share their experiences and ideas for food in the region, whether it be farming, eating, shopping, cooking, teaching, learning or gardening.

Community members are encouraged to sign up to one of the dozens of talks happening through until May.

Those interested in having a say around the future of food in Cardinia can register at www.cardiniafoodmovement.org/kitchentabletalks or participate in the digital discussion at: https://oursay.org/communityfoodplan/community-food-plan-consultation/

Any schools interested in engaging their students in a talk are encouraged to email max@sustain.aus.org.